SEO: A basic guide for mastering search engine optimization [As Seen On: IT Training Tips]
Search Engine Optimization. What is it? And why is it important? These are questions that every blogger, website owner, and business should be asking. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, is "the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine."
But now comes the real question--how do you optimize your website to its full potential? If you want to make sure that your site stands out in the battle of google search results, then SEO is going to have to become your best friend. Search engine traffic is often one of the top contributors of the number of visitors to your site making SEO ever important. Let's start from the top of your page and work our way down. Double check that these key things are being accomplished in order to verify that your site will be most liked by all search engines.
Keep your URL short and rich with keywords.
Avoid using ugly URLs at all costs. Not only does this upset search engines, it also makes it harder for users to remember and share your links. This is one of the first things that search engines will look at when determining your rank, and Google has even stated that the first 3-5 words in a URL are given the most weight--so make them count! In order to ensure that you are using the best keywords available to you, check out the Google Adwords Keyword Tool.Title your posts/pages properly.
When you're titling something, think about what you would search for. Would you search for the title that you just gave that blog post? Would you click on that page title if it came up in your search? Your titles play a very important role in SEO--not only does it appear on the actual page, but it also shows in the browser's title bar. To make sure that you are getting the most impact, it is best to have your page title be the first element in the title that appears in the browser tab. Also, start your title with keywords--everything important should be visible in the first three words.Don't be afraid to use multimedia.
Videos, photos, infographics, and more. All of these elements can really make your content stand out. By keeping your viewers entertained and happy you are ultimately reducing your bounce rate and increasing the time that they are on your site. These two statistics of user interaction can be an important ranking factor for Google. Keep accessibility in mind while you're doing this in order to really stand out above the rest.Link to Other Content
Just like I mentioned above, allowing your viewers more opportunities to navigate around your site improves your bounce rate. This looks good to search engines, so by adding in related posts that you've previously written or linking one product to another you are improving your SEO. One other reason that you might want to include links to other content is because whenever you have a link on a page, a search engine will crawl through it (think of links like doorways to more content). You want search engines to be able to easily navigate around your site through your multitude of links, so the easier you make it for them to move around the better.Search engine optimization really isn't difficult. Take the time to revise your website and make sure that you are following these key steps to make your site stand out above the rest. Keeping a clean design and flow can improve your SEO and make it easier for your content to shine. If your site is full of clutter like random images, unnecessary banners, and doesn't look consistent or have a nice flow, then consider going minimal. Make your site all about the content. SEO is a tool that everyone should know about and master with ease.
This blog post was written by Danyell on ittrainingtips.iu.edu, a blog written by UITS IT Training staff in order to inform readers of tips, tricks, and useful tools when combating different technology, software, and online devices. Check out IT Training Tips for a daily dose of knowledge that's quick and on the go.
